Most of us rely heavily on our air conditioners to keep cool on hot summer days. Did you know there are several home improvements and other things you can do to significantly lessen the load on your AC system? Read on to learn how to cool your Fayetteville, NC, home so you’ll save money on summer energy costs.

House-Cooling Ideas for New Homes

If you’re building a home, consider having your builder add some of the following items into and around it. To keep your cooling costs down for decades to come, consider these:

Continuous insulation.
Triple-pane windows.
Awnings over exterior doors and windows.
White roof panels.
Rooftop garden.
Trees.

Continuous insulation and triple-pane windows keep your cooled air inside and the summer heat outside. White roof panels reflect heat, while awnings and trees give shade. Trees and plants act as natural air conditioners, while a rooftop garden, even if it just contains flower pots, adds insulation and holds rainwater.

House-Cooling Installed Fans

If you have the budget to install commercial-grade fans in your home, there are a couple of types you may want to install. In fact, they would work beautifully together. They are:

Whole-house fans.
Smart attic fans.

Whenever it’s cooler outside than it is inside, a whole-house fan can replace the warm indoor air with the cooler outdoor air rather quickly. Just open windows and doors and then turn on the fan. It’ll pull the home’s hot air up and out through the attic and roof, causing a draw that pulls in the cooler outside air.

A smart attic fan acts in a similar fashion to an HVAC system with a thermostat. Whenever the temperature in the attic reaches 80 degrees or the humidity reaches 60%, a smart attic fan turns on and blows the attic’s air outside.

Strategic Window and Fan Use

You can control indoor temperature without using your AC system by doing various things with your windows. If it’s cool enough outside in the evening and overnight, you can turn off your air conditioner and open all the windows.

Once it gets too hot during the day, you’ll want to get air moving through the house. You can create a through-draught by opening all the windows on opposite walls and by opening the doors. Leave the blinds down and the curtains closed, though, so as to keep the sunlight out.

Alternatively, you can put a window fan in a window that faces outward. Make sure your ceiling fan pushes air downward. Turn on both the window fan and the ceiling fan to take out the hot air.

Then position other fans to create a cross breeze. Since warm air rises, you’ll want to place the fans close to the floor and direct them upwards. For extra chill, put roasting pans full of ice in front of these cross-breeze fans.

Avoid Generating Heat Indoors

Summertime is a great time to grill outside. Outdoor grilling prevents unnecessarily adding heat to your home. You can also keep the indoor heat down if you avoid using the oven and stove whenever possible.

The lighting you use also affects the indoor temperature. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent light bulbs. Electronics and appliances also generate heat, so you might want to turn the ones you’re not using.

The Most Efficient Summertime Thermostat Settings

To get the most cooling comfort for the extra money you spend for electricity, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends that you set your thermostat to 78 degrees while you’re at home and supplement with space-cooling methods. Set the temperature up to 88 degrees when you’re away for more than two hours.

There are several things you can do to keep cool this summer without running your air conditioner too hard. But when it’s time to replace your AC system, contact us at Bass Air Conditioning Company. We can complete the job to a high standard.

Image provided by iStock